A Countess From Hong Kong

G

1967

1 hr. 48 min.

Romance

Comedy

List

43%

7 Reviews

Tomatometer

41%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

A Russian countess (Sophia Loren) stows away in the stateroom of a married U.S. diplomat (Marlon Brando) bound for New York.

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Denny S

Chaplin's last film was a valiant attempt at an old fashioned, romantic comedy. Two problems: This was 1967 and compared to other releases that year (The Graduate, The Trip, The Producers, Valley Of The Dolls, etc) the film was hopelessly dated. Plus, Marlon Brando was completely miscast as the romantic lead. In a part which should have had a boyant Cary Grant or Rock Hudson play the part of the handsome, American diplomat, we get a mumbling Marlon Brando. Chaplin's directing style had been to play the part in rehearsal and expect his actors to pick up on all the nuances. This is hardly Brando's "method" style so, by the time of the shoot, he seemed to be just going through the motions in a flat and colorless way. However, Sophia Loren, who was more open to Chaplin's directional style, was much more successful in her part. The film is more of a curio than anything else. Not an awful, unwatchable film, but an example of the individual pieces not quite fitting together properly. On the bright side, the Chaplin-composed music is a delight and a top 10 worldwide hit from the film emerged: "This Is My Song" performed by Petula Clark.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/02/23

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Brent A

20% rating ... Underwhelming film considering the talent that was involved.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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Audience Member

A Countess from Hong Kong is a film by Charlie Chaplin that stars Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren. It tells the story of a US Ambassador who falls in love with a stowaway on a cruise. The film had some pretty and colorful costume designs that I truly respected. Also, the performance of Sophia Loren is as fantastic as always. However, this film by Charlie Chaplin was quite a disappointment has the film wasn't really that hilarious. Overall, A Countess from Hong Kong can be a hit or miss. I call it a hit.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

matthew d

A quirky picture for Chaplin's last. Director Charlie Chaplin's romantic comedy-drama A Countess from Hong Kong (1967) is very sweet and a delightfully cute final film in Chaplin's filmography. Marlon Brando is surprisingly funny as the stern Ogden Mears as he loosens up and looks like he's having fun after awhile. Sophia Loren is stunning and playful as A Countess from Hong Kong called Natascha. She brings out the joy in every moment as well as a profound sadness over her circumstances and past. Tippi Hedren is lovely in her supporting actress cameo as Martha Mears. Her knowing glances are too cute. Sydney Chaplin is quite funny as Harvey Crothers, he's got his father's humor. Charlie Chaplin has a neat little cameo as the elderly Chief Steward. Patrick Cargill is increasingly funny as the stuffy British servant Hudson. I loved his silly bedtime nonsense. Margaret Rutherford cameos as the sick and fastidious Miss Gaulswallow. Monty Python's own Carol Cleveland cameos as her nurse! Angela Scoular's cameo as a high society girl is too funny with her aristocratic British accent and incessant talking. Geraldine Chaplin is just gorgeous as a girl at the ship's dance with her innocent eyes and graceful beauty. Josephine Chaplin and Victoria Chaplin are cute in their cameos at the hotel entrance. In all honesty, I loved all the stars and starlets cameoing throughout A Countess from Hong Kong. Director Charlie Chaplin eases you into the dark world of the many countesses left in Hong Kong with genuine empathy for these ladies. The drama really works in A Countess from Hong Kong. The movie's comedy has Chaplin's absurdist sense of playful humor that gets funnier and funnier throughout the whole affair. I think it's quite romantic and fun still. Not remembered as a great masterpiece, but in how wholesome and affectionate it is, I'd say A Countess from Hong Kong is wonderful. Writer Charlie Chaplin leans into the silliness of hiding out a stowaway on a ship full of people coming in and out of quarters for delightful comedy. All the romance feels tender as it goes from rough and rude to sweet and tender. I appreciate Chaplin's sympathy towards the Russian women stuck in Hong Kong with no passport after World War II. You can tell his empathy for the suffering and dehumanization of others in every scene of A Countess from Hong Kong. Apparently it's based on a real woman Chaplin met in his travels. Editor Gordon Hales keeps you enthralled with sharp cuts around this luxury cruiser, so you're never really bored for 113 minutes. Cinematographer Ibbetson's wide shots are gorgeous with vivid color in Chaplin's first color picture. I wish movies looked as vibrant and lush as 1960's films. Composer Charlie Chaplin's gorgeous classical score is as beautiful and romantic as his other pieces. His music soars over many sequences with an ethereal air of romance for A Countess from Hong Kong. In all, I found A Countess from Hong Kong a lovely film for Chaplin's last. It's very cute and pleasant with no awful tension and a growing romance with a sincerity to everything. Chaplin always dreamed of love in his movies, so it's fitting that A Countess from Hong Kong was his final film as he left us with romance in his heart.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

How could a film directed by Charlie Chaplin and starring Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren miss so badly? All the actors signed on without having read a script. Bad move because the script is bad. It tries so hard at being a comedy, but none of it is funny. Today this film should only be watched as a curiosity piece. On it's own merits it sinks horribly.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Bad shots, weak dialogue and 2 main stars trying too hard relying only on their beauty. The only good things about this movie are the running around in that suite and "change your partner" ball.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

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Charlie Chaplin

Director

Marlon Brando

Ogden Mears

Sophia Loren

Natascha

Tippi Hedren

Martha

Sydney Chaplin

Harvey

Patrick Cargill

Hudson

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

The framing and cinematography are equally uninspired, the dialogue severely lacks the zest of Wilder or Sturges, and the acting reeks of phony attempts at impatience.

Rated: 3/10

Aug 24, 2020

Full Review

Wendy Michener

Maclean's Magazine

Charlie Chaplin's A Countess From Hong Kong is a failure because of the spoken word. The storyline is as basic and clear as the situations in Chaplin's two-reclers.

Jul 16, 2019

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Sadly, Chaplin's last picture, a slender, old-fashioned bedroom farce, is a misguided effort in which neither Brando nor Sophia Loren are well cast.

Rated: C

Apr 7, 2009

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Christopher Null

Filmcritic.com

Rated: 3/5

Aug 1, 2006

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Thomas Delapa

Boulder Weekly

Rated: 1/5

Nov 4, 2004

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Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Both the shipboard ball sequence and the climactic scene (both involving dance) are pure bliss, and Chaplin's handling of the widescreen format and color are surprisingly assured.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 2, 2004

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Synopsis

A Russian countess (Sophia Loren) stows away in the stateroom of a married U.S. diplomat (Marlon Brando) bound for New York.

Director: Charlie Chaplin
Rating: G
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): May 31, 2005